River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-08-25
Temperance.
CONDUCTED BY THEW. c. T. U.
"For God and Home and Natipe Land"
AN OBJECT LESSON.
Prof. Boyeson Presents Picture that
is Worth Thinking About.

Prof. Boyeson Presents Picture that
is Worth Thinking About.
Prof. Hjalmar Hjorth Boyeson, writ
ing in the Independent of ''Some Phas-
es of the immigration Problem" has
these striking paragraphs:
"As long as Castle Garden remains
open, placing at the disposal of the
employer, at all times an inexhaustible
supply of cheap foreign labor, what
does the boosted protection to Ameri-
can labor, which tariff is said to afford,
amount to! 1t practically amounts to
this, that the American labOrer, while
paying higher prices for all necessaries
of life which the protective tariff i'm
poses, is forced after all to compete
with the pauper labor of Europe. For
the European labOrer, when he arrives
in Castle Garden, brings with him the
European scale of values, and is during
the first years of his sojOurn here will
ing to work for bare sustenance. And
because he requires far less to sustain
life than the native or naturaliZed
American laborer, the competition be-
tween the two must result in the sur
vival of the one who can reduce his
necessaries to the lowest possible min
imum. In SO far as it is the object of
the Knights of Labor to make this
heartless and degrading competition
impossible, or to impose obstacles in
its way, they deserve the thanks of the
state rather than censure. Their poll.
cy in this respect is dictated by the
deepest of all human instincts, the
instinct of self preservation. That
state which turns out the highest ay-
erage type of men is greater than that
which turns out the best iron or mach
inery or cotton goods. The present
industrial system of the United States,
in its zeal for the latter, totally neglects
the former.
Some ten or eleven years ago a Swed- |
ish jOurneyman furrier arrived in the
United States. He was an exception
ally skillful and industrious man, and |
had no difficulty in securing employ |
ment. For eight years he worked |
steadily at his trade and his wages
rose with his skill, until he earned from |
twenty to twenty-five dollars week. |
lie was member in good standing of |
the Furrier'S Union, took out his nat |
papers and became rapidly |
by contact with his |
fellow-workmen and by contentment |
which he felt with his lot. lie had, in |
the meanwhile. married remarkably |
clever and handsome girl of his own |
engaged lodgings, consist |
ing of three rooms and bathroom in |
Brooklyn, had two children born to |
him, and altogether, lived the life of |
a self-respecting, though unobtrusive |
citizen. This continued until two |
years ago, when about twelve hundred |
considerable number of |
whom were journey-man furriers, ar |
rived at Castle Garden. These men
applied through various agencies for |
at their trade, and some |
Of them were finally engaged by |
fuTrier down town at one dollar day.
They proved to be fairly good work |
men, and the firm employing them was |
enabled to undersell its competitors in |
the fur trade. In order to protect |
the competing firms were |
obliged to give their own workmen the |
choice between a largely reduced scale |
of wages and discharge. With one |
consent they accepted the latter, and |
the Hungarians promptly took their |
places. For self.respecting men could |
not live with their families on one dol |
lar day. But, you may ask, how did |
the Hungarians do iti Well, accord
ing to the statement of my Swedish |
friend, they not ouly lived on it, but
tkey saved money. They picked their |
breakfast out of the ash. barrels. For
dinner they would eat half loaf of |
bread, using for butter the loathsome
grease which was furnished them for |
preparing the skins. They lived in |
filthy novels, eight to twelve in the
same room, rarely changing their |
clothes.
My husband could not compete with !
that kind of people, said the Swedish |
wife; because if you live like pig,
you will sooner or later come to act
like one
The heroic struggle of these people |
to keep decent--tO preserve their self
respect in the midst of desperate con-
furnished me with an OBJ
ject lesson which shall not soon for
Oat -